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Tuesday, October 11, 2011

My urge to amass the yield

I really cannot explain it but each year I have this primal instinct to gather food for the winter. My husband things I'm crazy sometimes because of the things I do. Sorry honey! I try to grow a good garden each year and try to preserve all the food for later usage. It's like my body knows that soon I will not have the option to go out in the garden and enjoy a freshly grown meal so I need to prepare for when I wont have that option. Maybe its my inner pioneer self?
It's not like I learned it from my elders or anything. I grew up gardening and preserving but never really the idea that you need to prepare for the day when you wont be able to enjoy fresh food. We were poor and my mother was a single parent who needed to feed 2 children. Government cheese, macaroni and cheese and hamburger helper were normal to us. But my mom preferred the taste of fresh and if there was a way to get it she did it. She grew up in a family who grew their own food because its what you had to do. Long before the days of prepared prepackaged foods you actually had to grow your own food. Yes that was life back in the day. Oh how I dream of those days and wish I could have my own little house on the prairie or live a Amish lifestyle.
As the saying goes where there's a will there's a way. We didn't own a home but rather lived in apartments. This meant no soil to grow food and we needed to look elsewhere. My grandmother lived in a old farm house with property and always gardened. So many weekends were spent out at grandma's house helping her with gardening, yard chores, canning, preserving, and in trade we would get garden goodies. Tomato sauce, pickles, and zucchini relish were just a few things we looked forward to eating. So maybe this is where my urge to amass the yield comes from.

I have to admit I'm scared of taking pictures of my food supply. But I want you to see that I'm not perfect and I struggle to live a green lifestyle just like all of you. But I'm not giving up and trying my best. Here you see drawers full of frozen beans, snap pea's and fruits I have grown or picked fresh from the farms. Carrots I have canned, stock I have made and froze, local store bought butter, and a red plastic tub of coffee. What you don't know is that I have owned that tub for 5 years and refill it each month with organic bulk coffee grounds. All those plastic Ziploc bags full of garden goodies were bought years ago and I wash and reuse them each year. Those glass jars were mostly bought used, given to me and a few I have bought new. You can also see meat I have bought from a local natural store. The meat is local, hormone free and wrapped in paper only.

This is my tiny pantry. On the bottom you see my crock pot, pressure cooker, and lots of large glass jars which I store my food in. Then you have my bread machine (really need to start using it again) and more glass jars. I have food on one shelf only. You will see that I only have one type of canned food right now and that is because I don't like canned food but have yet to grow enough tomatoes to make my own sauce. The can you see is Organic tomatoes which we use about 3-4 times a month. Lemon juice is for making our own lemonaid and saltines are for making our own peanut butter (homemade) cracker sandwiches for lunches. Then of course you have more glass jars, cookie cutters, baking dishes and items to use in making apple sauce. This is what you typically will find in our pantry.

And here you see my baking pantry. I buy almost all my items from the bulk section and keep them in large glass jars which I have bought or luckily was able to snag from my grandmothers house. Dark colored liquor bottle you see is my homemade vanilla. Store bought items were on sale/clearance are are from a local company. Organic sugar I find at Whole Foods and buy because its the cheapest I found so far. Still looking for bulk options on that item. I don't bake often but do make my food from scratch so all these items I use often. I'm no baker but I can cook like no one else.

And here is where I go crazy. Lots of jelly I made, lots of veggies from the garden I froze, and lots of other goodies. Bagged peas are a downer for me. My girls love the peas from Schwan's so I caved in and purchased some. I also have a soft spot for fresh pasta but it's not usually budget friendly unless its found on sale. When I do find it I buy a bunch and freezer it for later use. I am proud to say its made by a local Portland company near me. At $1.99 that's a steal. I also have vintage Tupperware containers (don't hate me!) with shredded zucchini or squash. I do not ever microwave these containers, hand wash them in warm water and only use them in the freezer. These are slowly replaced when I find deals on glass smaller containers. I also keep our large packs of chicken in here so I only have to buy it once a month. We feed our dog a raw diet and you can find meat cheaper in larger quantities.

3 comments:

That is simply amazing what you have done for your family! i wish I could take the time to do the same thing but have not...The hubby and I started canning this year and have just done a hot mix and jalapenos...Next year I am going to move onto jelly and tomatoes...I had a wonderful garden this year and enjoyed every single thing we got out of it!

My grandparents always had a large garden and ate items from it all year- again in part because that is what you did but also because it was so good and you did not want to waste anything! My grandparents made their own bread as well and I will never forget how incerdible that was!

I hope one day to have the food storage you do, however I am on my way...I love canning jars and use them all over the house, for flowers, forcing bulbs, odds and ends you name it....

That is simply amazing what you have done for your family! i wish I could take the time to do the same thing but have not...The hubby and I started canning this year and have just done a hot mix and jalapenos...Next year I am going to move onto jelly and tomatoes...I had a wonderful garden this year and enjoyed every single thing we got out of it!

My grandparents always had a large garden and ate items from it all year- again in part because that is what you did but also because it was so good and you did not want to waste anything! My grandparents made their own bread as well and I will never forget how incerdible that was!

I hope one day to have the food storage you do, however I am on my way...I love canning jars and use them all over the house, for flowers, forcing bulbs, odds and ends you name it....

You are so brave! I want to post pictures of my pantry, freezers and cupboards...but oh my..what a mess! I think I will tho, because I'm doing inventory any way...stay tuned! By the way: your storage looks great, and I too get the "bug" every year at this time of the year: getting ready for the Winter.

About Me

My mother raised my sister and I all by herself. We were very poor but raised very well. I watched as my mom cut back on everything she could to get by. Grew up helping my grandmother with her large garden and canned everything we could. So when I got married and had 4 daughters of my own, I knew what I had to do. All those things I learned from watching my mom came flooding in. And ive been doing it ever since.
Readers Note: This is a hobby that I enjoy and do not make any profit from. I do this to help others try to get by with freebies or almost free things. My goal is to help as many people as I can get by with what little they have.

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